For someone who wasn’t originally intended to be part of the movie, John Cena has done pretty well from The Suicide Squad. The star landed the role of Peacemaker after his former in-ring rival Dave Bautista passed in favor of Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, and he’s now getting his own HBO Max spinoff out of the equation.
James Gunn wrote the episodic prequel to keep his creative juices flowing during the pandemic last year, but WarnerMedia was so won over by the pitch that they ordered it straight to series, and Peacemaker is expected to arrive early next year. Of course, given that it takes place before the events of The Suicide Squad and Gunn teased that the majority of the ensemble won’t be making it out alive, there’s no guarantees Cena will see the end credits roll.
However, that hasn’t stopped the wrestler-turned-actor from revealing that, not only has he seen seen the final cult of the film, but he doesn’t think people are ready for it either.
“No, no, no. I’ve absolutely seen the movie. You are not ready.”
David Ayer’s opener failed to capitalize on its obvious potential, matters that admittedly weren’t helped by huge amounts of studio interference that plagued the project from almost the very beginning, but Gunn appears to be reveling in the creative freedom that he’s been afforded when it comes to crafting the follow-up.
The Suicide Squad is just over a month away from coming to theaters and HBO Max, but based on everything we’ve seen from the irreverent R-rated romp so far, it stands a great chance of going down in the history books as one of the DCEU’s best efforts yet.